Selling old car - CarMax etc.

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ballons
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by ballons »

yohac wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:56 pm
ballons wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:07 pm I can only speak for Carmax and they are great for selling; however, I was under the impression they won't touch anything older than 8 years. I seriously doubt the offer they gave.
Just a data point, they paid me $3600 for my 2007 Corolla yesterday.
Like I said I don't know the cut off. Once you cross that, the offers are bad because the vehicle is auctioned vs retailed. I'm sure they also make exceptions for mint condition older vehicles or ones that are in high demand.

OP also got an online quote for a vehicle 7 years older that yours; that is what I doubt. That $1500 online quote will likely be $500 after they see it.
michaelingp
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by michaelingp »

ballons wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:04 pm
OP also got an online quote for a vehicle 7 years older that yours; that is what I doubt. That $1500 online quote will likely be $500 after they see it.
I sold my 2004 CR-V with 185,000 miles on it to CarMax for $1,800 and I highly doubt the were going to sell it on their lot. I got the impression that they are very much dedicated to meeting their on-line offer. When I took the car in, as soon as they heard I had an on-line offer, the whole process changed. Instead of a guy to assess the vehicle, they just sent someone to test drive it (around the parking lot). The check engine light was on, so they read the code, and the guy said, "That's easy to fix, we don't even subtract from our offer." What makes me think they are dedicated to meeting their on-line offer was when they brought me out the check, they hadn't even mentioned what they were going to give me for the car. I asked the woman and she said, "I'm sorry, I thought you knew, from the on-line offer." Obviously, if you misrepresented the car on-line I'm sure they have some way to get out of the deal, but really, they didn't dig that deep. In fact, I think a lot of it was based on the "vibe" the test driver got.
inbox788
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by inbox788 »

michaelingp wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:49 pm I sold my 2004 CR-V with 185,000 miles on it to CarMax for $1,800 and I highly doubt the were going to sell it on their lot. I got the impression that they are very much dedicated to meeting their on-line offer. When I took the car in, as soon as they heard I had an on-line offer, the whole process changed. Instead of a guy to assess the vehicle, they just sent someone to test drive it (around the parking lot). The check engine light was on, so they read the code, and the guy said, "That's easy to fix, we don't even subtract from our offer." What makes me think they are dedicated to meeting their on-line offer was when they brought me out the check, they hadn't even mentioned what they were going to give me for the car. I asked the woman and she said, "I'm sorry, I thought you knew, from the on-line offer." Obviously, if you misrepresented the car on-line I'm sure they have some way to get out of the deal, but really, they didn't dig that deep. In fact, I think a lot of it was based on the "vibe" the test driver got.
Make me think that they lowball the online offer and want to close the deal before you change your mind. I'm sure individually they get some duds, but if the cars that come in via online offers are better and they pay less than the ones driven in, why fight it? And the vibe test is probably sufficient to weed out the really bad ones.

One thing about Carmax you should keep in mind is that there's a self-selection of cars that are being taken to them. They don't typically see the cars that don't run or don't start. They condition of the cars they evaluate are generally higher, so you'd expect higher values than what people are reporting.
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vanbogle59
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by vanbogle59 »

I sold a couple of cars to CARMAX. I have also turned down a couple of their offers.
I think they are a nice, relatively honest and transparent place to start. And their evaluation is free, so....

If I remember correctly, they have a 2-tier model for the offers they make:
1) Cars they will keep and resell - typically lower mileage and recent model years
These get offers that may compete well with trade-in levels
2) Everything else
Those go immediately to auction. Those get low-ball offers. They would rather not bother.

YMMV. Good luck.
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vineviz
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by vineviz »

ballons wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:04 pm
yohac wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:56 pm
ballons wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:07 pm I can only speak for Carmax and they are great for selling; however, I was under the impression they won't touch anything older than 8 years. I seriously doubt the offer they gave.
Just a data point, they paid me $3600 for my 2007 Corolla yesterday.
Like I said I don't know the cut off. Once you cross that, the offers are bad because the vehicle is auctioned vs retailed. I'm sure they also make exceptions for mint condition older vehicles or ones that are in high demand.

OP also got an online quote for a vehicle 7 years older that yours; that is what I doubt. That $1500 online quote will likely be $500 after they see it.
We recently sold a 2005 Honda Odyssey to Carmax with nearly 170k mile. Leaks in the valve covers, oil pump seal, power steering system, and VTEC solenoid. Drive belts worn. Front lower control arm bushings were totally shot. Failed navigation system, backup cameras, etc. Missing trim, lots of dents, worn tires (which are "run flat" tires that can only be changed by a dealer).

Online quote was $1,000 and that's what they gave us. They straight up told us it was going straight to auction. This was a few hundred dollars less than I estimate I could have sold it for privately, and about double what a Honda dealer offered us as trade-in two days earlier.
"Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections than has been lost in corrections themselves." ~~ Peter Lynch
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vineviz
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by vineviz »

inbox788 wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:03 am
michaelingp wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:49 pm I sold my 2004 CR-V with 185,000 miles on it to CarMax for $1,800 and I highly doubt the were going to sell it on their lot. I got the impression that they are very much dedicated to meeting their on-line offer. When I took the car in, as soon as they heard I had an on-line offer, the whole process changed.
Make me think that they lowball the online offer and want to close the deal before you change your mind. I'm sure individually they get some duds, but if the cars that come in via online offers are better and they pay less than the ones driven in, why fight it? And the vibe test is probably sufficient to weed out the really bad ones.
That was my conclusion as well. In fact, I walked away with a mental note to be less critical in my condition assessment if I ever sell them a car again. My impression was that it would take a very unusual circumstance for them to fail to honor the online quote.
"Far more money has been lost by investors preparing for corrections than has been lost in corrections themselves." ~~ Peter Lynch
Teague
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by Teague »

FWIW- my Carmax datapoint:

I sold them my 8 month old low mileage car in excellent condition. The next day it was for sale on their lot for 12% more than they paid me for it, which I consider a reasonable markup. Particularly considering their overhead and regulatory compliance obligations.
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z91
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by z91 »

Carmax offers are good for 7 days, but you mention you were just using their online tool. I'd say their online tool is a way to get you in the door, and to expect a bit less. IIRC I was selling a 8 year old Toyota at the time (market was around $7000) and they offered me about that much online. I got there and they happened to find things wrong with the car that I wasn't aware of (honestly, they were not even issues worth pointing out, but I digress..), and they offered me about $4500 or so. I sold it on Craigslist in about 15 hours (posted in the evening, had cash in the bank the next afternoon).
valleyrock
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by valleyrock »

Use the industry standard to price a used car: Nadaguides.com. Used by auto dealers and, importantly, bank loan officers. Of course, repair and body work needs, if there are any, must be taken into account.
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krafty81
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by krafty81 »

I have sold two cars on Nextdoor app. It is pretty popular in my area. I do not mind selling the car myself. I take good care of my cars and I find I can get a lot more for the car that way. Each time, it was a father buying a car for their kids. I have used Autotrader (sold one). All I have every gotten out of Craigslist listings are scammers.
hunoraut
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by hunoraut »

I've used Carmax in the US, and similar wholesale-buying service in other countries.

The inspection is quick but thorough. If I had a resprayed panel or something imperceptible to the eye, they are able to detect it.

Cars were recent model of good value, and I found the actual post-inspection cash offers very "fair". The 1 or 2 or 3k USD I could have made privately, is not worth:

(1) cleaning and listing it
(2) arranging test drives with potential tire kickers
(3) negotiating and dealing with low ballers
(4) having strangers at my residence
(5) dealing with cash vs bank transfers vs checks, etc
(6) paperwork
(7) waiting days to weeks for a close

etc

i'll happily eat a small cost to drive up to a wholesaler, getting a quote in 30 minutes, then getting my funds fully confirmed same day or next.
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SlowMovingInvestor
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by SlowMovingInvestor »

Thanks for all the comments. I'll try webuyanycar (much nearer), then CarMax (90 minutes) and see.

Do I need to get the car professionally detailed before taking to these places (it's in good shape internally and externally) or would just a car wash and a self vacuum do ? If I listed it, I would get it detailed, but I presume these places aren't that bothered about superficial items.


What do I need to take to CarMax (or other places) ? Title, Insurance, all keys. What else ?

Is there any point in taking any maintenance records (for the < 5K old tires and fairly new battery, for instance) ?
talzara
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by talzara »

ballons wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 6:04 pm Like I said I don't know the cut off. Once you cross that, the offers are bad because the vehicle is auctioned vs retailed. I'm sure they also make exceptions for mint condition older vehicles or ones that are in high demand.
Carmax auctions off about half of its cars.

There appears to be a hard cut-off at 13 years and 130,000 miles. The oldest car on Carmax.com is from the 2009 model year, and the highest-mileage car has 129,000 miles.

There is a soft limit at 10 years and 100,000 miles. They'll keep an older car if it's in perfect condition, but they'll auction a newer car if it's in poor condition.
Based on age, mileage or condition, fewer than half of the vehicles acquired through our appraisal process meet our retail standards. Those vehicles that do not meet our retail standards are sold to licensed dealers through our wholesale auctions. (p. 6)

Retail Merchandising. ... Our focus is vehicles that are 0 to 10 years old; these vehicles generally range in price from $11,000 to $36,000. (p. 7)

Wholesale Auctions. ... The typical vehicle sold at our wholesale auctions is approximately 10 years old and has more than 100,000 miles. (p. 8)

http://s21.q4cdn.com/483767183/files/do ... report.pdf
hunoraut
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by hunoraut »

SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:37 pm Thanks for all the comments. I'll try webuyanycar (much nearer), then CarMax (90 minutes) and see.

Do I need to get the car professionally detailed before taking to these places (it's in good shape internally and externally) or would just a car wash and a self vacuum do ? If I listed it, I would get it detailed, but I presume these places aren't that bothered about superficial items.


What do I need to take to CarMax (or other places) ? Title, Insurance, all keys. What else ?

Is there any point in taking any maintenance records (for the < 5K old tires and fairly new battery, for instance) ?
You don’t need to clean it. Unlike private buyers who might be psychologically swayed by the “presentation”, they use objective means of valuation. E.g. They use paint thickness gauge to check for evidence of repair.

They can read the tire code (for age) and measure the tread for depth, so receipts and records don’t really help. They are not the final long term owner of the car.
av111
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by av111 »

Re "take the plates off", In California DMV just asks you to register the sale. You don't need to keep the plates.
AV111
av111
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by av111 »

Re "take the plates off", In California DMV just asks you to register the sale. You don't need to keep the plates.

OP, I have bought and sold several cars. Craigslist is my go to website. Always better price than anywhere else
AV111
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SlowMovingInvestor
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by SlowMovingInvestor »

SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Fri Apr 16, 2021 4:26 pm I want to sell an old (2000/2001) low end model car that I own. It's in pretty good condition (newish battery and tires), decent body condition ), less than 90K miles, but the check airbag light is on (although the car has never been in an accident -- probably an electrical short).

I know the old car market is good, but not for such an old car. I tried Carvana and they offered me $200. I would think just the catalytic converter alone would be worth more than that. Carmax offered around $1500. But their showroom is around 90 min away in another state, and I'd need to get someone else to bring me back.

I did mention electrical light in their automated tool, but I'm not sure their program can discount for airbag light properly.

How likely is it that CarMax will honor the price ? Or would they reduce it dramatically because of the airbag light (or a scratch or so) ? I don't want to spend several hours driving only to be told they can't offer me that much. I've no intention of buying another car from them right now, so trade in wouldn't work.

ADDED: To be clear, both Carvana and CarMax's offers were via their online tools.
Follow up -- I asked a mechanic about my airbag light. He said it would likely take several hundred to fix, and a salvaged replacement module would need to be reset by the dealer, who might charge extra. I didn't think it was worth fixing.

2 local dealers offered around $500 for the car. Webuyanycar offered $200 (clearly ridiculous) after a physical appraisal.

I visited the Carmax store and they honored the online price (which was finally around $1800). That strikes me as very fair for such an old car. I might have got a better deal via Craigslist, but I doubt it'd be more than a few hundred dollars more than Carmax at best. And a lot of hassle too (and I had some other deadlines coming up which dictated getting rid of it in a few weeks if possible).

I was very pleased with Carmax overall.

ADDED: And thanks to all for the responses here.
IatrogenicX
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Re: Selling old car - CarMax etc.

Post by IatrogenicX »

N=1

This month I Had a Mazda that was 10 years old appraised for about $7K at CarMax with check airbag light on. So glad I saw this forum post on Google search because I was spending months to try to figure out to fix it and finally took it to 2 stealerships and one said $4K to fix and another said $3k to fix. Basically both wanted to replace EVERYTHING. Used the appraisal to up the lowball trade-in offer I got from dealership when buying another vehicle later that week.
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